By Collin Bryant | Sports Writer
Baylor football (1-9) fell 38-24 Saturday to Texas Tech (5-5) with turnovers plaguing the Bears.
The Bears out-gained the Red Raiders 523 to 337. However, with four turnovers, several of which came in the red zone, the Bears struggled to keep the Red Raiders from scoring.
It wasn’t just the defense that let Baylor down against Texas Tech. The special teams contributed to the Red Raiders success as junior wide receiver Keke Coutee took the opening kickoff back for a 92-yard touchdown.
Baylor head coach Matt Rhule said that the team needed to keep in mind that the two offenses cancelled each other out, but it was the costly mistakes on special teams and turnovers that ultimately doomed the Bears.
“It’s unfortunate we had the kick-off return for a touchdown as well as a fumble return for a touchdown,” Rhule said. “As I told the guys in the locker room — not in a positive way, but in a reality way — our offense scored just as many points as their offense did. By us beating ourselves, we gave them a chance to leave here victorious.”
After Baylor freshman quarterback Charlie Brewer was able to get off to a quick start throwing a touchdown to freshman wide receiver Gavin Holmes on Baylor’s first possession, the Red Raiders defense began to clamp down. Texas Tech forced a Baylor turnover in all four quarters, putting the Baylor defense into difficult positions and preventing the offense from reestablishing a rhythm.
Brewer, who made his second start against Texas Tech, passed for 417 yards and three touchdowns. Brewer also set a record for the most passes completed at Baylor, completing 43 of 63. However, Brewer was not mistake-free in running the offense. He fumbled the ball during an exchange with sophomore running back JaMycal Hasty and he threw an interception as well.
Brewer felt like the Bears produced good numbers on offense, but need to get better down near the goal line.
“I thought we moved the ball pretty well throughout the game,” Brewer said. “Those four turnovers just really killed us …. Very frustrating. We need to find a way to be more efficient in the red zone.”
The Bears may have to once again readjust for more injuries on the offensive side as Holmes left the game with a leg injury. Holmes scored the Bears’ first touchdown of the game on a four-yard pass.
Rhule said the team will just need to continue to decrease the mistakes as they continue with the rest of the season.
“For all the great things our young players are doing, today was a day where a couple of our young guys made some errors that we just have to continue to coach through,” Rhule said.
The Bears look to bounce back this week against the Iowa State Cyclones (6-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday at McLane Stadium.
